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nationalpayday.com

41 Things You Don’t Know About the Money in Your Pocket

Money, you carry it in your pocket and spend it every day, but how much do you really know about it? Here are some interesting facts you might not have known.

  1. The first paper currency was developed by the Chinese and was made of parchment paper and bark.
  2. The Chinese had serious penalties for persons caught counterfeiting money, DEATH.
  3. In 1700 paper money caught on in Europe when issued by the official bank of the French government.nudist-colony

  4. One of the largest forms of currency were Rai stones from Micronesia. The largest was over 10 feet in diameter and weighed over 8,000 pounds. They were still being used until the early 20th century.

  5. A Florida nudist colony tried to show it’s buying power in Osceola county by making purchases exclusively with $2 bills.
  6. In the US all paper currency is produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. All coins are produced by the US Mint.
  7. 37 million notes a day are produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
  8. The Bureau of Engraving & Printing has locations in Washington DC and in Forth Worth TX.
  9. The Mint’s first batch of coins was produced in March of 1793 - 11, 178 copper cents.
  10. Mint markings help indicate where a coin was produced - these markings can be found to the right of the portraits face on the coin. “P” for Philadelphia, “D” for Denver and “S” for San Francisco.
  11. Currency paper is made of a special blend of cotton and linen fibers.
  12. Currency paper has red and blue fibers embedded inside as a security measure.
  13. Advanced security features such as watermarks, aluminum threads and microprinting were added to US paper money beginning in 1996.
  14. Two thirds of US currency is circulated outside the United States.
  15. 95% of the currency printed each year is used to replace notes already in circulation.
  16. Production of US paper currency involves over 65 separate steps in the production process.
  17. The 8 billion US notes printed each year could wrap around the Earth over 30 times.
  18. The first $1 notes were called United States Notes or “Legal Tenders” and were issued by the Federal Government in 1862. They featured a portrait of Secretary of Treasury Salmon P Chase.
    45% of currency production by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is of $1 notes.
  19. The US Mint produces nearly 30 billion coins for circulation each year.
  20. US coins are made by the United State Mint with locations in San Francisco, Denver, West Point and Philadelphia.
  21. The Secretary of the Treasury approves all US coin designs.
  22. The US Mint was created on April 2, 1792 and today receives more than one billion dollars in annual revenues.
  23. The US Mint is responsible for the physical custody and protection $100 billion of US gold and silver assets.
  24. The US Mint estimates the life span of a typical US coin is 30 years.
  25. The US Mint produces six different coins for circulation; penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar and one dollar.
  26. The Philadelphia US Mint has the capacity to produce 13.5 billion coins every year, 32 million coins per day, 1.8 million coins an hour.
  27. The motto “E Pluribus Unum” is found on all US coinage. It means out of many, one.
  28. The Philadelphia facility is the largest mint in the world.
  29. When the first US Mint opened in Philadelphia its security was left up to one night watchman armed with a pistol, sword and a watchdog.
  30. The first director of the US Mint was David Rittenhouse, a famous scientist and astronomer from Philadelphia. He was appointed by President George Washington in 1792.
  31. During the Civil War period, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was asked to print paper notes in values of 3, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cents. This was due to people hoarding coins, which created a coin shortage.
  32. If you had 10 billion one dollar bills and you spent one every second of everyday, it would take you 317 years spend it all!
  33. The lifespan of a $1 dollar bill is 21 months, for a $100 bill it is 89 months.
  34. The only woman to appear on US paper money is Martha Washington - on $1 Silver Certificates.
  35. Only two women have ever been on US coins; Susan B Anthony and Sacagawea. Both appear on dollar coins.
  36. Based on 2006 figures it costs 5.7 cents to produce each note - with an annual production of 8.2 billion pieces of US currency.
  37. In addition to his skills as a horseman, Paul Revere was also a silversmith and his metals company once supplied the US Mint with rolled copper for the production of coins.
  38. The first $100 notes were issued in 1862 and featured a vignette of an American eagle.
  39. The first use of Benjamin Franklin’s portrait on $100 bills was in 1914.
  40. Pennies are made of zinc coated copper. Nickels are made of copper and nickel alloy.
  41. The first US coin to feature an African American was Booker T. Washington, on a memorial half dollar, minted from 1946 to 1951.
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